COSCO diverts ships for domestic coal transportation

SHANGHAI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd (601919.SS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (1919.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has diverted ships for domestic coal transportation as the country struggles with serious power shortages amid its coldest winter in a century.

COSCO Holdings, a listed arm of state-owned COSCO Group, said on its Web site on Tuesday it had shifted the vessels from its international fleet, and was using 34 vessels to transport coal along China's coast. They had shipped about 3 million tonnes of coal from the northern producing areas to the south.

Beijing has urged all parties involved, including coal mines and ports, to help solve the power shortages in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holidays starting on Wednesday.

COSCO plans to increase further its capacity for coal transport to help relieve the fuel shortage in the south, where many power generators had been forced to stop operation. (Reporting by Rujun Shen; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)